Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: silverteen on September 25, 2012, 17:24

Title: help silkies feet look horrible and limping
Post by: silverteen on September 25, 2012, 17:24: my white silkie has lost alot of weight, she spends alot of time in the coop even when shes not broody, i noticed a week or two she was limping and her feet looked weird, with a white crusty edging around it and her toes look horrible too. this morning there were white feather all over the coop and i picked her up and seen shes plucked lots of the feathers away from her feet.

photo of foot to follow

please help! any ideas what to do!
Title: Re: help silkies feet look horrible and limping
Post by: joyfull on September 25, 2012, 17:29: she may have mites or lice - you need to treat her. Are her scales raised? If so you will need scaley leg mite treatment. Also check under her feet for mud balls or for bumble foot.
If she is pulling her feathers out off her legs she is distressed so please get treatment soon.
Title: Re: help silkies feet look horrible and limping
Post by: silverteen on September 25, 2012, 17:29: (http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa39/bazjames34/20120925_171101.jpg)
Title: Re: help silkies feet look horrible and limping
Post by: silverteen on September 25, 2012, 17:42: Anyone? whats hte most effective treatment for this?
Title: Re: help silkies feet look horrible and limping
Post by: kegs on September 25, 2012, 18:11: Aww the poor thing. That looks bad....

I'd say it's definitely scaly leg mite (google images will confirm too)

This thread has lots of tips and I'd start ASAP and treat the coop and your other hens too just in case.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=70767

Good luck with treating it and don't forget, don't get tempted to pick off the scales. They will drop off naturally with her next moult.
Title: Re: help silkies feet look horrible and limping
Post by: joyfull on September 25, 2012, 19:28: yes definitely scaley leg mite
Title: Re: help silkies feet look horrible and limping
Post by: silverteen on September 25, 2012, 21:09: thanks for replies, ive got some johnsons cream for scaly mite from pets at home and applied it liberally on her feet, poor things. also got some powder for it, so will gently wash her feet tomorrow in warm water to get the cream off and then aply the poweder when they dry.

then apply cream again in a day or too. also will treat others as precaution but none show signs of it. and powder in corner of the coop.

any other advice?

when should i notice her feet getting better? shall i apply vaseline at night too?
Title: Re: help silkies feet look horrible and limping
Post by: kegs on September 26, 2012, 10:43: If that's the Tea tree Cream which is a natural product then yes I'd put vasaline on at night as well. I'd also give them all a Frontline dose too to get rid of the mites. No idea I'm afraid when you'll see a difference but good luck with the treatment.
Title: Re: help silkies feet look horrible and limping
Post by: joyfull on September 26, 2012, 11:12: you may see some change fairly quickly as your bird will start to look happier. However you will have to wait for her next moult for her raised scales to go and her new feathers to come through.
Title: Re: help silkies feet look horrible and limping
Post by: ANHBUC on September 26, 2012, 14:48: If she has been broody some of it might be pressure sores. My broodies get it and I use vaseline after a footbath for them. The dried skin softens and the birds pick it off themselves. There legs look like new after a few weeks. The scaley leg mite damage as said will stay until she goes through a moult.

If she is underweight you can build her up with growers pellets if she is not laying.
Title: Re: help silkies feet look horrible and limping
Post by: symonep on September 26, 2012, 21:11: we had a canary with this and treated it with nothing more than vasaline, worked a treat, hope it gets better soon
Title: Re: help silkies feet look horrible and limping
Post by: wildwitchy on September 28, 2012, 21:26: I use 2 drops of frontline (any version - its all the same strength, they just put different amounts in the pippette) on the neck/skin of my birds to prevent mites and lice etc. No problem. It is off label for poultry but works,vets will recommend it.
Title: Re: help silkies feet look horrible and limping
Post by: Elvira on October 02, 2012, 21:22: I am trying Harkers Invemectin drops on my silkies for this - similar to Frontline but you can get it on the Internet for around £8 and without prescription. Apparently you need to put a drop on their neck and under the armpit on the skin and don't forget egg withdrawal for 2 weeks. Am waiting to see if it works...